LeBron James didn’t just break the NBA’s all-time scoring record back in February 2023 - he’s been rewriting the record book ever since. What was once considered an unreachable summit, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points, is now a mark LeBron has long since passed.
And as of December 22, 2025, he’s sitting at a staggering 42,406 points. That’s not just first place - that’s 4,019 points ahead of second.
To put that in perspective, that’s two full seasons of averaging 25 points per game.
And that kind of distance? It’s not lost on LeBron’s peers.
After a recent win over the Lakers, Clippers guard James Harden - who just moved into 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list - was asked about the possibility of catching LeBron. He didn’t hesitate.
“Don’t even say LeBron in this conversation,” Harden said with a laugh. “Nobody’s ever catching that.”
And he’s probably right. Harden himself has had one of the most prolific scoring careers the league has ever seen.
He’s now at 28,359 career points, passing Carmelo Anthony to crack the top 10. He’s been in the league for 17 seasons, with a scoring prime that saw him average over 30 points per game in three straight years and over 29 in five different seasons.
From 2012 to 2021, he was a nightly bucket, averaging 29.3 points per game over that nine-year stretch.
But even with all that, Harden is still more than 14,000 points behind LeBron. And here’s the math: if Harden, at age 36, keeps up his current average of 25.8 points per game - his best scoring season since 2019-20 - he’d need to play 544 more games to catch LeBron’s current total. That’s over six and a half full seasons, assuming he plays every game.
And remember - LeBron’s still adding to that total. He’s not done. So the finish line keeps moving.
Even younger stars with elite scoring chops are facing a mountain. Take Luka Doncic, LeBron’s teammate on the Lakers.
He’s averaging 28.9 points per game for his career - a phenomenal number. But he’s in just his eighth season and has 13,594 points to his name.
If he keeps up that same scoring average and plays all 82 games each season, it would still take him more than 12 seasons to reach LeBron’s current total. And again - LeBron’s still going.
That’s the kind of legacy LeBron is building. It’s not just about being the best of his generation - it’s about setting a bar so high, even the greats can’t see the top.
And as the Lakers prepare for their Christmas Day matchup against the Houston Rockets, LeBron is set to make yet another kind of history: his 20th Christmas Day game in 23 seasons. No one understands what that stage means better than him. For two decades, he’s been the centerpiece of the NBA’s marquee holiday showcase - a tradition that speaks to his longevity, his excellence, and his place in the fabric of the league.
LeBron’s scoring record isn’t just a number. It’s a testament to consistency, durability, and greatness at the highest level.
And while records are made to be broken, this one? It might just stand the test of time.